NTFS or FAT32, Which is best for WinXP?

[RoConno]

I've heard good things about the NTFS HDD format, but my primary HDD is currently FAT32 and I heard that you can convert an existing drive to NTFS using the MS Convert.exe utility, and not loose any of the data on the drive. Can anyone confirm this for me? I'd hate to loose all my data.
Thanks for your help!

 

[Slowlearner]

Yes, I upgraded an old pc to XP and ran the convert utility without any problems, or loss of data. It may take a couple of hours though, and while NTFS is definitely an improvement over FAT32, there are no compelling reasons to convert to FAT32.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: RoConno
I'd hate to loose all my data.

Convert.exe is pretty reliable. Probably more reliable than your primary hard drive, that you are apparently using without backups. The odds of having hard drive-caused data loss are around 1 in 10 each year.

Originally posted by: Slowlearner
.....there are no compelling reasons to convert to FAT32.

Ability to create files larger than 4GB. Improved reliability. Security settings for folders and files (mostly usable with XP Professional).

 

[btcomm1]

rebatemonger, you can have a fat32 partition that is much bigger then 4 GB. I have an HD that has fat 32 and it's 160 GB.

If you meant fat16 then the size limit is 2 GB I'm pretty sure.

 

[RebateMonger]

I said that the maximum FILE size under FAT32 is 4GB, which is true.

Microsoft: Limitations of FAT32 File System in Windows XP
"You cannot create a file larger than (2^32)-1 bytes (this is one byte less than 4 GB) on a FAT32 partition."

 

[btcomm1]

My bad, I wasn't even paying attention. I didn't know that it had a maximum file size limit thats crazy. You da man hehe.

 

[ForumMaster]

NTFS has no file size limit, faster access and better security. unless you have to use the drive with other OS's (OS X, linux and such) NTFS is best. for the convert utility, you need %15 of the drive free. it doesn't cause any data loss but backing up your data just in case can't hurt.

 

[Tegeril]

Safest thing to do before converting: chkdsk the drive. Convert (which takes not very long at all), and then chkdsk again.

 

[dderolph]

If you have not done the conversion yet, here's something to be aware of: CONVERTING FAT32 to NTFS. It explains that you could end up with 512K cluster size, and how to avoid that.